Returning Value Blog

Strategic planning for the coming year

Do you know where your business budget is?

This is the traditional time to draw up a budget for the coming year. Perhaps the way you previously developed the budget for your business has not been overly successful. Or maybe you have found as the year goes along that certain key factors were ignored or not given enough weight. In that case, the way you usually put together the budget may not be the best approach for your business.

Virtually every business owner will tell you it takes more than one person to build up and maintain a profitable business. In fact, it is likely that several “key employees” have contributed to the success of any given operation. However, while a business owner may be careful to make sure that he or she is adequately insured, the need to protect the business against the loss of key employees is often ignored or disregarded, which is a mistake. 

The “final rule” on overtime pay, long anticipated by the business sector, was issued by the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) this spring. However, changes in the regulations do not formally take effect until December 1, 2016. Because of that, employers still have time to make the adjustments necessary to be in full compliance.

Comparing C corporations with S corporations

If you are organizing a new business or considering a switch from one to the other for an existing business structure, you may prefer to elect S corporation status for tax purposes rather than a traditional C corporation.

If you’re an employer with full and part-time employees, get ready for potentially big changes in how certain employees may be entitled to overtime pay. The ramifications of new governmental regulations could have a sizeable impact on your bottom line—and if you’re an employer that’s affected, it may not take long to feel the bite.

Important planning tool for business owners

A buy–sell agreement can be critical to a business owner intending to sell the business interest or needing to accommodate other changes within the organization. Typically, it can help ease a transition in leadership to the younger generation. 

Understand and realize the key differences

Don’t be fooled into thinking that cash flow and profit are the same thing. In fact, there are major differences. Cash flow is dynamic and moves daily, while profit is a snapshot of income and expenses at a specific point in time. Understanding this comparison, and acting upon it, can be significant for a small-business operation.

Popular fringe benefit for employees

Flexible spending accounts (FSAs) can be a low-cost addition to your company’s benefits package. You can provide FSAs for your employees to cover health care expenses, dependent care expenses—or both—within certain tax law limits.

 8 No-Cost Transaction Cycles Available for Complimentary Evaluation

As business advisors to our clients, we take a comprehensive approach to assessing and serving your needs.  Through the core accounting and financial services we provide, we are uniquely positioned to identify additional opportunities to improve the overall operational effectiveness of your organization.